Welbeck's Wembley winner enough to convince Hodgson he is the man to lead the line against France

Young has now assisted or scored 11 of England’s last 20 goals and the weight of the pass which presented his club colleague with the opportunity to delicately lift the ball over Simon Mingolet neatly encapsulated the improvement in his game since to he graduated from Aston Villa to the more demanding environment of Old Trafford.

Jermain Defoe, who was mightily unlucky not to double England’s advantage late on with an angled shot that crashed against the far post, seems destined to be limited to the role of bit-part player, while Theo Walcott, despite his and Arsene Wenger’s belief, still lacks the physical qualities to thrive, or indeed survive, in a more central role.

Sir Alex Ferguson, clearly, is a shrewd judge of a player. That Welbeck relegated a player of Javier Hernandez’s stature and class to the substitutes’ bench for large swathes of the season just gone should speak volumes.

Indeed, minus Welbeck in the season-defining Manchester derby United lacked punch and personality and were easily snuffed out. It was, arguably, one of the greatest oversights of Sir Alex’s Old Trafford tenure.

Welbeck, like this England side, is very much a work in progress, but right now his country needs him.

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